Before Cinderella: The Story of the Glass Slippers
by Esaema
Summary: -COMPLETE- Where did the little glass slippers came from and why did Cinderella have a fairy godmother? The story behind the little glass slippers. Please R
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I (obviously) do not own the fairy tale "Cinderella", but I do own all the basically all the characters in this story. If you want to use them just tell me. Thanks.  
  
Author's Note:   
  
Thanks to my sister for editing this chapter (her endless nitpicking *does* have a use!), but any mistakes are entirely my fault. Feel free to point them out in reviews. I really appreciate any and all comments.  
  
Also: *text* equals italics because my computer is evil.  
  
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Before Cinderella: The Story of the Glass Slippers  
  
Chapter 1  
  
About twenty years before once upon a time there was a glassblower. He was known throughout the land for his skill. He didn't care about how much money he earned. In fact he wasn't very rich at all because he very often made pieces for those who could not afford them and gave them away as gifts. He was known for being compassionate and kind but even more stubborn - especially some one rubbed him the wrong way.  
  
He and his wife, Lorelei and daughter, Marie, lived in a small city (more like a town) that was basically in the middle of nowhere. But people still came to buy his work. The townspeople were quite happy to have him there - he brought business to the town.   
  
For a traveler had to have horses and horses and travelers had to be fed, meaning stables, hotels and restaurant businesses boomed. Also all the gossips quite up-to-date on who was married to whom, what fashions were "in" and what the latest news was in court - thanks to the travelers and buyers that came through.  
  
So when Lord Majre came to town in all his grandeur, he didn't get the big welcome he was expecting - and deserved in his opinion. He was a proud and ambitious man and he thought that he deserved these peasants' awe and respect, but all he got were whispers of the town gossips behind his back.   
  
It was common knowledge that he and his family had their sights on the throne. There was an almost endless supply of gossip on how they would achieve their goal. He and his family were known for their pride and they were convinced that they deserved to be royalty.   
  
His wife and daughter were also known for their beauty and delicate feature's - especially their dainty feet. They were stuck up, vain and always dressed in the current fashion. The very latest being (ridiculous looking) peacock feather skirts. Lady Majre and her daughter flounced around in front of mirrors for hours, harassing the palace seamstress to add more feathers and frills. This caused the seamstress to sniff (out of their hearing):   
  
"Feathers on skirts, what will they think of next? Glass slippers?"  
  
Unfortunately Lord Majre heard her and thought "Why not?" After all no one has had a pair of glass slippers before. His wife and daughter would have something that no one else had ever thought of before. It would set them apart and above those other ladies of the court - maybe even gain the attention of the prince.  
  
So the Lord Majre traveled several days to find the famed glassblower before he arrived in the Small City. During the trip his horse had been startled and thrown him spraining his ankle, they lost half of their supplies and just that morning the waitress in the Bunchberry Inn had spilled porridge all over his shirt.  
  
So he was understandably not in the best of spirits when he came into the glassblowers shop. Slapping the piece of parchment that contained the plans for the glass slippers on the table he told the glassblower in his most noble and commanding tone:   
  
"I, Lord Majre demand you make this!" The glassblower looked down at the piece of parchment then looked back up at Lord Majre.  
  
"I'm sorry. This can't be done."  
  
"What!"  
  
"What you ask is impossible. To make a shoe of glass? They would break as soon as any weight was put on them. Besides I'm busy with another project. Come back later. Maybe then I'll have the time."  
  
Lord Majre stared at the man until his face turned deep red with rage. How dare this mere *peasant* defy him.  
  
"If you will not do it in your shop now, perhaps I can help you think in my dungeons!" He hissed angrily.  
  
Lorelei, who had more tact than her husband tried to pacify the situation.   
  
"Please understand milord that my husband is a very busy man. Do not be offended if he rejects your offer. He does not have time to do all the requests that people make." Lorelei said trying to sooth this prideful lord's wounded pride and make him see reason. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect.  
  
"Are you implying that my time and money are inferior!?"  
  
"No, Milord. It's just that there is an order to this."  
  
"An order? AN ORDER!? I am above your petty ''order''! I DEMAND you make these slippers - understand?"   
  
"Yes, Milord. We understand," The glassblower cut in. "but I will not make them. Your request is just as important as everybody else's. I do not follow your orders. *Understand*?"  
  
Lord Majre was practically steaming. No one - especially not a mere peasant -- snubs a Majre.   
  
"Very well" He said, "I understand that you will not work on the shoes. I also understand that you will acquire a permanent residence in my dungeons. Guards!" At the last word four guards entered the glassblowers and took the couple away.   
  
Lord Majre smirked. Nobody disrespected the Majre clan.  
  
*Nobody*.  
  
.-._.-:*:-._.-.  
  
Marie, the glassblower's daughter was out in the vegetable garden weeding the carrots viciously and wishing desperately that she was old enough to leave for the city.   
  
"Only 437 more days until I can leave this sleepy mudhole." She muttered as she stabbed the dirt with a trowel.  
  
She didn't want to spend her whole life in this town - she wanted to go to the big city. She wanted to live her life. Carpe Diem - seize the day was what her mother always told her. But in this small town there was nothing to seize! She wanted - no, she needed to at see least the city. And she would as soon as she turned sixteen… in four hundred and thirty-seven days.  
  
A clatter came from around the front of the house and she stood up, brushed the dirt off herself and went to go check. Thinking that maybe one of Lord Majre's horse had gotten lose and maybe caused something vaguely exiting in this dreary town.   
  
But instead of a stray horse she saw her parents on the back of Lord Majre's carriage. Running after them she called to her parents but it was to late.   
  
Her parents were gone.  
  
.  
  
To Be Continued 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
.  
  
A scrap of parchment fluttered down the now empty road, finally stopping at Marie's feet. Instinctively her hand reached down and snatched the parchment. Glancing at it, her eyes saw what was written on it, but it did not register. Marie's mind was numb with the realization that the two people she cared about most in the world were gone.   
  
And they were most definitely going to stay gone. Majre's were a very powerful clan. No one dared cross them. Even the King was careful not to upset them. They were powerful and dangerous as allies, but even more dangerous as enemies, as they were untrustworthy and ambitious. Once they gained something they never let it go.  
  
Marie was never going to see her parents again.  
  
It took while for the full implications to finally hit her. By then a calm, detached, and rational part of her brain had taken control and told her feet to keep on walking, it didn't however stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. When she reached her home (if it could be called that now with her family gone) she collapsed on the bed that her parents shared and sobbed.  
  
Why? Why did Lord Majre abduct her parents? They had done nothing to him. They were good and kind people. So why? Why did he do this to her family?  
  
Time past, Marie didn't know or care how much. She lay there, her face pressed into the quilt her mother had made, drenching it with salty tears. Eventually there were no more tears and Marie just felt empty. She just lay on her parents' bed and slept.  
  
// Her mother and father stood in chains at the entrance of Majre Manor. Marie tried to run to them, but for each step she took, they got further away. Finally she collapsed from exhaustion while her parents had moved so far away she could barely see them. Laughter filled her ears. She turned around and saw Lord Majre standing right in front of her.  
  
"You cannot save them. I always get what I want." He told her.   
  
She made a grab at his sleeve to try and stop him, but her hand met only empty air. He and her parents were gone and she was left alone.   
  
All alone. //  
  
She woke groggily, but well rested. In her clenched fist was the piece of parchment she had rescued from the street. Glancing over its contents she was that they were plans for - glass slippers.  
  
"What on earth?" She muttered to herself. "Who ever heard of glass slippers?"  
  
On the lower right hand corner, royal blue ink proudly proclaimed the plan to be commissioned by the Lord Majre. Suddenly everything fell into place. Lord Majre must have tried to commission Papa to create a pair of glass slippers from his plans. Papa would have, of course, blown off the Lord Majre's commission as he already had more projects then he could possibly complete without adding on something as fanciful and ludicrous as glass slippers.  
  
Marie frowned in contemplation as she studied the plans. They looked impossible but perhaps they could be done with a few alterations. She rummaged through her father's notes and scribbled a few of her own. Her father had taught her the craft of glassblowing ever since she was old enough (or according to her mother before she was old enough) to be around the hot kiln.   
  
Marie worked day and night. Every try she would calculate something wrong or the shape would be off. Finally after months and many sleepless nights of work she created the one thing that might get her parents back: a pair of glass slippers.  
  
Marie stared at the shoes. She could hardly believe that she herself had made them. They were beautiful. Perfectly clear and pristine they looked so delicate that it seemed as though they would break if you touched them, but they were stronger than they looked. Almost at her fathers level.  
  
Almost.  
  
After turning the house upside down, the map Marie found was old and torn, but it was still legible and the roads and landmarks around the town did not change much, so it seemed accurate enough.   
  
The map showed that almost completely surrounding the small city (or town) was an incredibly thick forest that was called the Nightwood forest. And it was called the Nightwood for good reason; it was almost as dark at noon as at midnight. There were a few clear roads but the quickest way would be straight through the forest. Marie shuddered. All kinds of creatures lived in the swamp and not all of them were friendly. But if she wanted to get to her parents before Lord Majre harmed them, she would have to take the most direct path.  
  
She would have to go through Nightwood Forest.  
  
Marie's mother had told her many ways to defend herself against the dangers of the forest. Some of the creatures were friendly. Strange but beautiful bird songs drifted through the air, strange small squirrel-like things that were an odd leaf green color, and even an occasional fairy would travel through the woods.   
  
Fairy is really a very loose term. It includes all kinds of Fayes, sprites, elves and even gnomes. But the fairies that lived near the forest were true fairies. They were about four feet tall (short for humans but tall for fairies) with silver eyes and gold green hair. They were said to be fairies of a good sort. Ones that didn't mind granting a few wishes if asked nicely, but they could have a mean streak if crossed. Fairies were typically avoided except by the very foolish or very desperate.  
  
It wasn't the fairies that made her nervous. She was more worried about the not-so nice things that lurked in the forest. Such as Glithli or swamp-cats.  
  
As she silently listed the many horrible ways you could be killed in the Nightwood forest she heard a scream.  
  
Her mother had taught her to help anyone in need and her father had taught her to survive. So even though she was afraid (as would anyone who knew anything about the Nightwood forest) she crept quietly in the direction to where she had heard the scream. Holding up her lantern she saw a tree goblin, standing over what looked like a child (she couldn't tell in that light). Goblins despise light and since the Nightwood forest (true to its name) is so dark that goblins thrive there.  
  
Marie remembered what she had been taught. She swung the lantern towards the swamp goblin since they hate light and shouted. The forest goblin dropped its victim and scurried off into the darkness. The child sat up and blinked her sliver eyes at her. Marie gasped.   
  
This was no child but a fairy. But why would a fairy have trouble with a goblin? Fairies were powerful they could do just about anything as long as they had something to begin with, such as turning rocks to apples and mice to dogs. It could have just turned the goblin into a toad.   
  
Marie was struck dumb from the astonishment that she had seen a real live fairy. They just stood there in silence until finally the fairy spoke.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
.  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Author's notes: I know basically nothing about glassblowing so I didn't go into much detail. Sorry if what I did write is inaccurate, please feel free to correct me. Reviews are welcomed and Constructive critisism is treasured (and heck, if you really want to flame me feel free).   
  
Many thanks to Elen Dumir, Nosilla, and Chibified who took the time to review. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
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Cellendria was lost. Not only was she completely and utterly lost, but she was completely and utterly lost in the worst place possible: in Nightwood forest where even fairies feared what lurked in the shadows.   
  
Cellendria didn't care.  
  
She hadn't cared about anything for a long time. Her family was dead; she had nothing left in the world. She was nothing… just a pathetic, worthless child-fairy who couldn't do magic to save her life.   
  
And why should she try? Her Aunt Melinda had often said that one must have faith in their magic for it to work wonders, but magic had not saved Aunt Melinda. The magic of four adult fairies hadn't been enough to save her family's lives why would it do any good? Magic had destroyed her home and killed all those she had loved. Magic could lead to nothing good. Magic was worthless - just like everything else in this world. Nothing in life was worth anything anymore; why bother fighting for it?   
  
So she wandered aimlessly through the perpetually dark forest, not seeing the eyes that watched form the inky black depths of the woods. Not until it was too late. The weight of a living body hit her from behind, long, sharp claws dug into her shoulder, and the stench of death assaulted her senses. A fire in her burned, a voice telling her that she didn't *want* to die. It urged her to reach for her magic that she possessed, but it was a very small voice and the flame was drowned in a sea of apathy and depression. She collapsed under the pressure of nothingness and did not try to reach for her magic, not even to save her own life.  
  
She did, however let out a piercing scream as the pain in her shoulders increased.  
  
A light appeared suddenly and the pain vanished. Maybe I'm dead. Thought Cellendria, *Maybe Mama is standing there waiting for me, along with Papa, and Melinda, and Saki. Maybe we'll be a family again. Maybe…*  
  
She blinked and the figure standing in front of her came into focus. It was a young human female with russet hair and green-grey eyes. Freckles dotted her face and she was about a foot and a quarter taller than the fairy. She was obviously *not* Mama.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice thick with disappointment.   
  
The girl was too astonished to notice the bitterness in the fairy's tone.  
  
"I'm Marie, and you are…?"  
  
"Cellendria" replied the fairy.  
  
"Cellen-ed-a - can I just call you Elle?" Marie asked. Elle was a pretty name and a lot easier to pronounce.  
  
"Sure" said Elle. What did it matter what this strange girl called her?  
  
There was an awkward pause in the conversation which Cellendria, now "Elle", made no attempt to fill.  
  
"Are you lost?" Marie asked awkwardly. Silence answered. "…because if you are I have a map. I know the way out… if you want to travel with me?"  
  
The word 'no' was on the tip of Elle's tongue, but one look at Marie's hopeful face and she hesitated. This girl really wanted company and… Elle really didn't feel like walking alone in this dark forest anymore. She allowed a small smile to show through.  
  
"I *would* like to." She said almost but not quite reluctantly. Marie's grin of relief rewarded her.  
  
"Follow me."  
  
So Elle and Marie traveled through the Dark wood forest towards Lord Majre and Marie's parents. During that time Marie told Elle about her life, of the beauty of the countryside, of the warmth of her mother and father's hugs, and of the glass slippers. She talked about her dreams, hopes and fears: how she wished for adventure, how she wished to make a name for herself where people didn't know her father, how much she worried for her parents safety.   
  
Elle, much to her surprise, found herself listening with great interest and (even more to her surprise), she found herself telling her own tales in turn. She talked about unicorns, crystal waterfalls, the lack of her magic, and the grief she held for her dead family.  
  
Days past, neither of them knew how many. When they finally reached the border of the forest, both of them squinted in the glare of the sun that they had become unaccustomed to in the perpetual darkness of Nightwood forest.   
  
"Well… good bye then." Marie said awkwardly. She shouldered her pack and left Elle standing alone.  
  
"Wait!" Elle ran after Marie. She didn't know why she wanted to help Marie so much; all she knew was that she was tired of being alone. "…Could I come with you, please. To um… help find your parents."  
  
These words were said awkwardly and in a hesitant burst and were met immediately with a brilliant smile and Marie's hand offered in companionship.  
  
.-._.-:*:-._.-.  
  
It would have seemed that during her travels Marie had forgotten the glass slippers and her captured parents. Except every night she would look at the stars fingering her father's dagger and her mother's handkerchief. Elle would tactfully busy herself them while Marie prayed for her parents.  
  
They traveled for many days till they found Lord Majre's palace. By now Marie had given up any notion she ever had to becoming a wanderer. Traveling was nice and romantic when one talked about it but she had spent one night too many wet and grumpy. She'd prefer to stick to glassblowing. Lord Majre's palace hadn't been hard to find (because everyone knew of the Majre nobleness, wealthines and pride) but getting there was a long and hard journey (at least through Marie's opinion).  
  
Marie and Cellendria stared at the gigantic palace before them. It gave a new meaning to the word grand. It was made entirely of the purest marble and was so tall that Marie had trouble seeing the flags that proudly proclaimed this palace belonged to the Majres'.  
  
It was then that Marie began to be afraid. She never had any plans of what to do after she actually made it to Lord Majre's house. She was so insignificant next to this grandeur. Did she actually think that the Lord Majre would even think of listening to her. She was just a peasant with a pair of shoes.  
  
Elle looked over at Marie and realized the girl was about to walk right back down the path. Elle realized how much this meant to her and was struck by the oddness of it. She didn't even know Marie's parents.   
  
"If it's that important to Marie then it's important to me to." She told herself firmly. She surprised herself with the intensity of her thought. She hadn't cared about anything ever since her family had died.  
  
Elle grabbed Marie by shoulder and looked in the eyes. "No." she said firmly, "You can't turn back. Not now. You're almost there." -then seeing the hesitation in her eyes, "Please. You *can* do it, Marie. I know you can. I have faith in you"  
  
.  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Author's Notes: Thanks to GlitzyDancingShoes, Sendirella who reviewed chapter 2 and a special thanks to Elen Dumir, and MapleRose who reviewed both chapters. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4   
  
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"Please sir," Marie begged for the third time, "I have urgent business with Lord Majre."  
  
The guard sighed with annoyance. It was his job to keep riff-raff out of the palace. No matter how tedious and boring it was, it was his job. "Look, I can't let you in, if you don't tell me what it's about I'm going to have to send you home."  
  
Marie hesitated - he might laugh and turn them away - before she reluctantly showed the guard the glass slippers. The guard's eyes opened wide. Everyone had heard how a foolish (in the guard's opinion) and stubborn glassblower gotten the better of Lord Majre. He had ranted for weeks afterwards of the impudence of a mere peasant. Nobody crossed him without paying dearly for it and if this girl had something that Lord Majre wanted, the guard was not going to stop her. He valued his job and his life far too much to do that.  
  
"Very well," the guard said tersely as he beckoned them to follow. Less than two minutes later, Marie and Cellendira were given audience to the Lord Majre, who looked down his nose at her like she was a piece of trash. His eyes, for some reason, just glanced past Cellendria without really seeing her. If either of them had been less nervous they probably would have wondered why. Closely following him were his wife and daughter and Marie's parents. The latter were in chains and looked thin, dirty and ragged. Cellendria was struck by how amazingly petty and extreme Lord Majre was being about something as silly and worthless as glass slippers. The couple wore worried expressions on their faces but their faces brightened when they saw Marie. She rushed forward but a guard blocked the way.  
  
"Not yet." Lord Majre told her "Let's see the glass slippers I have waited so long for."  
  
Marie fumbled with the slippers as she handed them to the count. Behind him his daughter and wife gasped in pleasure and amazement. "Their amazing!" gushed his daughter. "I'm so glad you finally obtained them Daddy, even if it did take such a very long time. I'll be the envy of every girl in court! The prince won't be able to take his eyes of me - I just know it!"  
  
All this was said without hesitation and seemingly in one breath. If Marie hadn't been so distracted with her parents she would have wondered how on earth that girl managed it. Instead all she said was:  
  
"Please, sir. I have given you what you asked for, will you let my parents go now?"  
  
"It still remains to be seen if they are worth the price." He replied. "Opal, will you do the honors?"  
  
Marie and Cellendria looked at each other nervously. Neither of them knew. Marie had not checked for fear they would break.  
  
The Lord handed the slippers to his daughter, Opal. The room was silent as she slipped them on her feet. She took a couple of steps and they held. Marie let out a sigh and took a step forward.   
  
"Sir. Will you release my parents now?"  
  
The Lord grinned wolfishly. "And give up such an artist? Very well they are free to go - if you will stay. I am on the road to power and I could use someone of your talent."  
  
Marie's heart sank; she would have to give up her parents after coming so far. "Please sir," She said "If you would reconsider, I love my home and my parents and I want to be with both of them."  
  
"Well then, we don't have a deal." He replied, "Guards! Take them away!"  
  
All the blood drained from Marie's face, she couldn't lose her parents now. Not after coming so far. But she couldn't let her parents say here either. She opened her mouth to accept, but Cellendria interrupted her.   
  
"I curse you!" She shouted at him. The Lord noticed her for the first time and took a step back. Fairy curses are very dangerous indeed. "I curse you to lose all your wealth and for those glass slippers to stand between you and the crown and…" - she looked directly at the disgustingly dainty girl holding those ridiculously extravagant glass slippers that Marie made. - "…I curse your children with large feet hereafter!"  
  
A glittery light gathered around the three nobles, then settled on their bodies and disappeared into their skins. In less than thirty seconds all of their feet had grown an in inch at least. Cellendria stopped and looked very shocked. She had felt the magic run through her. She could do magic!   
  
Everyone stepped away from her. The guards let go of Marie's parents. She pointed at the handcuffs and they rusted off. The guards took another step back.  
  
"Undo it!" Lord Majre demanded, "Undo the curse." The family's goal - no destiny - was to be royalty. They deserved to be royalty. How could any one dare take it from them, even a fairy.  
  
"I can't. A fairy's first curse can't be stopped until it has run its course. I'm sorry." Cellendria admitted as she looked Lord Majre in the eye. "And even if I could I wouldn't. I shudder to think of what would happen if you became royalty."  
  
While Cellendria had been talking to Lord Majre, Marie had rushed to her parents and they embraced, not quite believing that they were really back together. She smiled at them.   
  
"Let's go."   
  
Picking up the slippers she turned and almost ran into Opal as she fled from the mansion forever with her parents in tow. The last glimpse Opal had of Marie's face would haunt her forever. Years later, she would see it every day in the face of her stepdaughter - Cinderella.  
  
.-._.-:*:-._.-.  
  
The way home seemed short. Cellendria magicked a horse and wagon out of a squirrel and a branch. It still continued to astound her that she could actually do magic. She watched as Marie and her parents told each other their stories, as she sat a small distance apart from them. She felt a tugging in her heart for the family she lost.   
  
"I should be happy," she scolded herself silently. "I can work my own magic now. And I should be used to being alone."  
  
Marie's laughter pierced through the air and Cellendria was struck by how much the loneliness still hurt.   
  
She busied her mind with brooding thoughts, making the ride seem short. All too soon they reached Marie's village and it was time for them to part. She turned to Marie, ready to be formally polite in her farewell when she was almost knocked over by Marie's embrace.  
  
"I'll miss you, Elle" Marie whispered in her ear. "You've done so much for me."   
  
"The horse an wagon won't last past midnight." Marie looked at her in surprise and laughed.  
  
"Not the wagon, silly! You helped me save my parents, you helped throughout the journey. You helped me by being my friend." She wiped her eyes and smiled tearfully and held out the glass slippers to Cellendria. "Just promise me that you'll never forget me. You can have these to remember me by."  
  
This time Cellendria reached out and hugged Marie. She took the glass slippers in one hand as she wiped the tears from her eyes with the other.  
  
"I promise."  
  
Cellendria turned and walked down that dirt path leading from the village. The familiar depression set in. Then the glass slippers clinked slightly in her hands and she remembered how Marie had cried and smiled as she thanked her and called her a friend. She realized that had made all the difference in the world.  
  
.  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Author's notes: This was the last chapter, there is only the Epilogue left and since I'm feel like ignoring my homework and I want to make up for not updating all that quickly I'll post it today as well. But first, many, many, many thanks to GlitzyDancingShoes who's praise in her review for chapter 3 made me so happy I probably glowed. 


	5. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
A young girl named Elle, though she was mockingly called Cinderella by her stepsisters, sat in the soot with tears running down her face.   
  
"It's not fair." She muttered to herself. "I've done twice as much work as they did. I should be able to take some time off. It's not fair!" the girl sighed and leaned her back against the fireplace. "...it's never fair. Why does Opal hate me so much?" She asked the air - not knowing someone else was watching.  
  
Cellendria, who was invisible, resisted the urge to reach out and comfort the girl named in her honor. The child's father had blamed magic for his wife, Marie's death and had forbidden Cellendria to have any contact with her goddaughter. Cellendria for the most part obeyed, but sometimes she would comfort the girl through dreams or with small amounts of magic. Elle probably just thought she had imagined her as a child.  
  
"Oh I just wish I could go to the ball! Just go out and live for one night!" Elle exclaimed.  
  
Cellendria smiled sadly. She sounded just like her mother - looked like her too. It was almost as if Marie was alive again. No wonder Opal disliked Ellen so much - she saw the girl who helped bring her family's downfall, every time she looked in Elle's face. A pang of guilt flashed in the fairy's mind as she looked at the sad face of her best friend's daughter. If she had thought out the curse a little better Marie's daughter - her goddaughter - might not be mixed up in all of this.   
  
In her heart compassion and guilt out weighed the promise she had made to the child's father. Slowly she released the spell reached forward to comfort the child she that she had hidden from for so many years. Elle stopped crying in surprise as Cellendria appeared, offering her passage to the royal ball. The fairy dried her tears, dressed her in a fine ball gown and sent her off in a pumpkin carriage drawn by six white mice. And as she watched her leave, as radiant as any queen, one thought passed through her mind:  
  
'That child will make a difference.'  
  
Now there is more to tell. Of how Ellen danced at a royal ball in the Glass Slippers and captured the heart of a prince. How the prince found his love by the fit of an abandoned glass slipper. Or even how the curse of the glass slipper was fulfilled and "Cinderella", the glass blower's granddaughter and the goddaughter of a fairy became queen.   
  
...but that is another tale.  
  
.  
  
THE END  
  
Author's notes: This story is done! I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, and even those who just read this far (you know you want to review). Also special thanks to my friends and my sister who were basically why I kept on writing this story. 


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